PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy said fan altercations at Bethpage Black overshadowed Team Europe’s historic 15-13 Ryder Cup victory over Team USA last month. McIlroy and the rest of Team Europe are thrilled they retained the Ryder Cup after a hard-fought tournament at Bethpage Black.
But McIlroy knows the 2025 Ryder Cup won’t be remembered for the actual shots that occurred on the course as much as he’d like it to. It was only the seventh time in history that an away Ryder Cup team came away with the victory, but the biggest storylines last month revolved around the verbal altercations that occurred between Team Europe and fans on the grounds at Bethpage Black.
McIlroy and his playing partner Shane Lowry were verbally jousting with patrons, and while the former said he didn’t even realize just how well his team was playing, the situation clearly distracted from the main narrative. McIlroy explained, “The Americans would hit it close, we would hit it closer, the Americans would hole a putt, we’d hole a putt on top of them. And it just happened every single time.”
Team Europe was on their way to a blowout victory away from home, but Team USA battled back to make it a real fight on Sunday during the singles matches. They were able to retain the Ryder Cup, though, as Lowry buried a birdie putt on Hole 18 to give his squad the win. McIlroy, who was seen as the public enemy number one for USA fans throughout the weekend, had some intense interactions with spectators, including instances where fans were calling his wife “a four” and dropping F-bombs as he was trying to line up shots.
McIlroy was seen shouting back, including a moment in the rough alongside a fairway where he stepped back from a ball and told the fan hurling insults to “shut the f— up.” He acknowledged that his impulsive nature sometimes led to confrontations, saying, “Honestly, I’d say it’s just on impulse. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I’m quite an impulsive character, if you haven’t noticed. Sometimes I’ll engage, and sometimes I’ll catch myself and refrain. But I don’t really choose when, and it’s just sort of sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.”
Team Europe defeated the Americans, 15-13, and became the first team since 2012 to win a road Ryder Cup. While that may not be the main storyline from the tournament, that’s the one McIlroy will try to keep in his mind as he looks ahead to next year. Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.